Cover is better than the original
 

What covers do you think slay the originals?
Ill start with:
1. Brand New Heavies cover of Midnight at the Oasis from Maria Muldaur
2. Susan Tedeschi cover of Bob Dylans' Dont Think Twice (Its Alright)
3. The Ataris cover of the Don Henley tune The Boys Of Summer
4. Cheap Tricks cover of Don't Be Cruel by Elvis

Jimi Hendrix cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower"

The Beatles cover of The Isley Brothers "Twist and Shout"

Aretha Franklin's cover of Otis Redding's "Respect"

Santana's cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman"

Stevie Wonder's cover of Jean Dushon's "For Once In My Life"

ZZ Top's cover of Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock"

Molly Hatchet's cover of the Allman Brothers "Dreams I'll Never See"

Manfred Mann's cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light"

Rick Springfield's cover of Sammy Hagar's "I've Done Everything For You"

The Kingsmen's cover of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie"

Van Halen's cover of Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman"

Nazareth's cover of The Everly Brother's "Love Hurts"

Cheap Trick's cover of Fat Domino's "Ain't That A Shame"

The Byrds cover of Pete Seeger's "Turn Turn Turn"

William Shatner's cover of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M1O3YkFqEHI

Peter Frampton's total eclipse of the Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash"


Honorable mention: The "Pinball Wizard" found on the original cast recording of The Who's Tommy is a superb arrangement. I don't know if it's better, since there is subjectivity involved, but I prefer it to the studio original from the Who.

Guns version of Word Up
FM's version of Heard it thru the Grapevine

Just about any of Joe Cocker's versions of other's songs.
With a Little Help from My Friends
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
Feelin' Alright
Cry Me a River
Bye Bye Blackbird
Delta Lady
Unchain My Heart
You Can Leave Your Hat On

Johnny Cash's covers of A Boy Named Sue, Hurt, Personal Jesus, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Folsom Prison Blues, I Hung My Head, Desperado, I'm On Fire, One, Redemption Song, Ring of Fire, Streets of Laredo, Sunday Morning Coming Down, The Gambler, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, just to mention a few......

:rolleyes:

Bauhaus covering Bowie's Ziggy Stardust.

Although I dig a good 6/8 song as much as the next guy, Molly Hatchet's version of the Allman Brother's "Dreams I'll Never See" took that song to a whole new rockin redneck level.

Ce Lo and Jack Black's version of "Kung Fu Fighting" from Kunf Fu Panda (What can I say I have a 3 year old). But it's still a jam.

Speaking of Cee Lo, his cover with Daryl Hall on Live From Daryl's House, of Hall & Oates "I Can't Go For That" put the original to shame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF8wIjtPcfs

James Gang's cover of Buffalo Springfield's "Bluebird"
Seatrain's cover of Little Feat's "Willin'" (and I'm a BIG Feat fan...no pun intended...)
Bonnie Raitt's cover of John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" (for that matter, Bonnie's cover of just about ANYTHING...)

Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.

In 1969 Manfred Mann's Earth Band - famous for their covers - recorded an original song written for them by Tony Hazzard, Fox On The Run. This was later covered by The Country Gentleman, whose version has become a bluegrass standard over the years. Dale Watson's cover is the best one I've heard.

Oh my GOD that was HOT! Thanks for sharing!

I need to sit down and watch some of those shows. I hear my buddies talking about them all the time.

But that was NASTY! That band left just the right amount of space between everything.

Molly Hatchet Rules!
 

Although I dig a good 6/8 song as much as the next guy, Molly Hatchet's version of the Allman Brother's "Dreams I'll Never See" took that song to a whole new rockin redneck level.

+1

I wouldn't say "slay".
The love the BNH...but Muldaur's version is more organic & has the iconic Amos Garrett guitar solo.

He always does a great job...as do The Isley Brothers-
"Summer Breeze"
"Machine Gun"
"Ohio"
"It's Too Late"
etc...

Big Black's cover of Kraftwerk's The Model

Joe Cocker live doing "the Weight" by the Band.

Rollins Band doing "Ghost Rider" by Suicide.

Devo's version of "Satisfaction" is still fresher than the Stones'

The Melvin's cover of "Going Blind" destroys Kiss' version.

However, Kiss' version of "God Gave Rock and Roll To You" is superior to Argent's, in all fairness.